Portrait Art

This is an abstract portrait drawing of a child. The artwork was drawn with a combination of markers, pen and white gel pen. A thin black pen was used to sketch the face of the child, followed by grey transparent markers for subtle shading. The initial drawing is heavily covered by subsequent layers of colored markers and white gel pen for highlights. A grey marker was then used for shading parts of the highlights in order to add more depth and soften edges.

This is a drawing of a Gypsy Child expressing difficult emotions. The artwork was drawn with markers and pens on colored paper. The eyes were drawn with more detail than the rest of the portrait, which help to draw attention to the emotion expressed in them. Subtle curls in the lips, eyebrows, nose and cheeks express the complexity of the emotion. White highlights help lead the viewer’s eye through the drawing, and indicate glistening tears falling from the child’s eyes.

The following series of artworks is entitled “Dharma Drawings”. The artworks include a drawing of a Buddha statue, a notable Tibetan Buddhist named Pema Chodron, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), and a lotus flower (nelumbo nucifera). The drawings were created with pens, markers and white gel pen on colored paper. The drawings express the vitality found in symbols and teachers of peaceful meditation and the concept of dharma.

The following artworks are a series of three abstract drawings of women’s faces. The drawings were created with markers, pens and white paint pen on colored paper. The series includes two smiling women on either side of a woman praying. The drawings began with quick pen sketches, following by shades of grey and colored markers, and then white highlights. While the drawings evoke a certain tension and intense expressions, the line work maintains a loose style and energy.

This is a series of portrait drawings of babies. The four individual drawings show a smiling baby, a sleeping baby, a surprised baby, and a baby with a curiously strenuous face. Each drawing was created with markers and pens on colored paper. Subtle shades of grey were used build up the forms of the face. White gel pen highlights were used to accentuate peaks in the topography of the face and glistening eyes. Colorful shapes add a touch of playfulness to the baby drawings.

The following charcoal drawings of 1 man and 2 women are each approximately 18″x24″. The drawings were sketched with charcoal and chalk on newsprint paper, with subtle sepia tones. The charcoal portraits were drawn in a loose and energetic style using a variety of shading techniques, blending and line weights. Dark shadow areas were drawn with charcoal, smudged with fingers and redrawn darker until deep shades emerged. Light white chalk was used for highlights and expressive mark making. Subtle color was used for punctuation that helps move the eye through each drawing.

This is a portrait drawing of Hua Tuo (c. 140–208); an ancient Chinese physician who lived in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. This portrait artwork is approximately 9″x12″ and was created for the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. The portrait was first drawn with pens and colored pencils, followed by markers and watercolors. Then the drawing was scanned and edited digitally to include a watercolor backdrop and highlights. The artwork will appear in the entrance exhibit of the WLM’s new physical location in Chicago, Illinois.

RAWRSOME! I’m pleased to announce that my charcoal “Lion” drawing is a permanent 5’x5′ textured, shimmering wall installation in all 23 elevator lobbies of the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile. Forbes.com did a full write-up about the artwork as part of the hotel’s 2013 renovation, however, the article’s author, Andrew Bender, didn’t mention my name as the artist of the artwork. I contacted Andrew requesting a reference by name, but have not received a reply.

Photo collage of 200 Faces; artwork by Michael D. Edens over a period of about 15 years. The artworks include a variety of portraits, abstract faces, concept art and character studies. The drawings, paintings and mixed media artworks were created in a variety of styles and wet & dry mediums including pens, ink, colored pencils, markers, acrylics, gouache, watercolors, oils, charcoal, crayons, pastels, chalk and digital imaging. Styles include abstracts, realism, impressionism, expressionism, and a wide ranging blend of of expressive techniques. The drawings and paintings range in size from a few inches to several meters.

This is an original abstract artwork entitled “Falling Apart (process)”. The artwork is approximately 4′ x 5′, and was created with a mix of acrylic paint, spray paint, charcoal, chalk, and pastels in 2012. Small photographs are aligned in a row below the artwork, documenting the painting process over the course of about an hour per image until the final artwork was complete.

This is a series of abstract charcoal portrait drawings, approximately 11″x14″ in size. While charcoal is used as the foundation, other mediums are used to enhance each artwork, including watercolor, acrylic, oil pastel and marker. The charcoal faces share a loose, high-contrast style with shadowed eyes. Each portrait drawing interprets the subject differently, from impressionistic human faces to ghostly or demonic impersonations. Charcoal art also contains characteristic smudges and smears that help create value and atmosphere.

The following drawings of faces are a series of abstract portraits of women and girls. The 9″x12″ artworks were created with a variety of mediums, including watercolors, colored pencils, oil pastels, pens, markers, acrylics, and paint pens.

The following drawings of sad faces are abstract portraits of girls with different types of grief. The 9″x12″ artworks were created with colored pencils, pens, markers, oil pastels, watercolors, and acrylics.

This is a portrait painting of a screaming baby entitled “Lemon Drop”. The 9″x12″ artwork was drawn and painted with colored pencils, watercolors, pens, markers, and acrylics. I think the baby feels a headache.

This is a drawing of a burro with children. The 9″x12″ artwork was drawn and painted in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, watercolors, gouache, oil pastels, and acrylic. The children and burro were initially sketched with colored pencils, followed by meandering wisps of white oil pastel and acrylics in the background. As layers of watercolors and gouache were applied, the oil and water repelled each other to reveal an energetic flow of light throughout the painting.

These are portraits. The 9″x12″ artworks were drawn and painted in 2011 with a variety of mediums. The first portrait, entitled “Portrait”, was drawn with pens, oil pastels, paint pens, watercolors, and gouache. The second self-portrait, entitled “Uneasy Portrait”, was drawn with colored pencils, oil pastels, and watercolors.

Unique layering and coloring techniques were used in each self-portrait in order to create interesting visual styles. For example, watercolors are painted over naturally repelling oil pastels to create an uneasy imbalance of organically flowing swirls and pooling colors amidst irrepressible lines.

This is a portrait of a man with glasses. The 9″x12″ portrait artwork was drawn in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, pens, oil pastels, paint pens, watercolors, gouache, and acrylics. The man was sketched with colored pencils, and layers of other dry and wet mediums were applied in layers. The intense and expressive lines meander throughout the artwork, creating a wholly connected portrait from foreground to background, top to bottom, and side to side. The use of unique shapes, gradients, and vivid and muted color combinations help to convey a sense of whimsical creativity and imagination surrounding and emanating from the man.

This is a portrait drawing of an old man. The 9″x12″ artwork was drawn in 2011 with colored pencils, pens, markers, oil pastels, paint pens, and acrylics. The old man’s portrait was initially drawn with dark colored pencils and oil pastels. Carefully placed lines and blocks of color were added to enhance the uneasy framework and shaky style, symbolic of old age and declining health.

This is a portrait drawing of a young man with a hat. The 9″x12″ portrait artwork was drawn in 2011 with colored pencils, oil pastels, pens, and acrylics. The young man was sketched with colored pencils and smudged with oil pastels in order to convey a youthful healthy glow. Additional mediums were used to create subtle surrounding details and textures that support the pensive yet innocent smile. This particular young man was about to embark on his service-oriented journey as an American soldier in World War II.

This is an abstract portrait drawing of Albert Einstein. The 9″ x 12″ colorful portrait drawing was created in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including pens, oil pastels, watercolors, acrylics, and markers. Expressive lines and vibrant colors help to create a dynamic portrait of the theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein.

This is a drawing of a woman with her hands in her hair. The 9″x12″ woman drawing was created in 2011 with a variety of mediums, including colored pencils, oil pastels, paint pens, and acrylics. The woman was sketched with blue and pink colored pencil and oil pastel, followed by three vertical lines of silver, pink, and yellow color with paint pens. The white paper, in particular the background, was then streaked with white acrylic paint to add a subtle texture to the artwork.

This is a drawing of a fat person kneeling with their head in their hands entitled “Overcome”. The 9″x12″ abstract artwork was created in 2011 with colored pencils, oil pastels, and watercolors. The person was initially sketched with colored pencils, followed by oil pastel and watercolor highlights. The white background creates a stark contrast against the subject reinforcing a feeling of isolation.